Recollections and Letters of Robert E. Lee

Adored by his soldiers and respected by his adversaries, Robert E. Lee achieved worldwide admiration for his military triumphs against a vastly more powerful army. The idol of the Confederacy proved gracious in defeat, and he encouraged other Southerners to follow his example and accept reconciliation with the Union. Revered in his lifetime, Lee achieved legendary status after his death. This extraordinary memoir by his son offers rare glimpses of the man behind the uniform, with scenes from family life and touching letters from a loving husband and father.Lee's youngest son, Robert, published this unique volume in 1904. A celebration of the general's life as well as a priceless contribution to the historical record, it combines correspondence and personal reminiscences dating from the Mexican-American War in the 1840s until the general's death in 1870. In addition to their firsthand reports from Civil War battlefields, Lee's letters offer comfort to the family members at home and express concern for his sons, who served in the Confederate army. His post-war correspondence reflects his devotion to duty in the difficult era of Reconstruction, when he declined more lucrative offers to profit from his fame and assumed the presidency of Washington College, known today as Washington and Lee University. Any study of Robert E. Lee, the South, the Civil War, or American history is incomplete without this remarkable book and its intimate portrait of a towering historical figure.